With complete honesty, parts of today really tried me emotionally and intellectually. We rode our shuttle to the West Bank today and were further immersed in the dual narratives of this land, along with experiencing a small glimpse of the reality. My expectation was of danger, even though I have long empathized with the Palestinians. I still am not professing to suddenly have answers or think I understand it, but today was eye opening and admittedly sad.
To see a walled off city where people are living without rights in a "democratic" country was a struggle to witness. While the Israeli narrative of living under intifada is also one to listen to, in my heart, I do not feel that the wall and what is happening is the answer. It is clear that the 38% population being Palestinians living in Jerusalem gives them the same percent of the resources. Schools are worse, housing and busing are worse, etc.
Below are some photos of the day, which again I must post and explain later. Some need no explanation.
Stories like the one above were posted all along the wall. Notice that all of the graffiti is In English. That is because the Palestinians are reaching out to the international community.
We went to a museum and art gallery designed by the graffiti artist Banskty. You can interpret the art and decor for yourself. It is all meant to make a statement.
We then went to a refugee camp. While you might expect to see tents, thousands have been refugees here for three generations now and have permanent structures. This is it normal for refugees. Many still insist on the right of return to their pre 1948 homes, something that simply will not happen under the state of Israel.
On a lighter note, we took a cooking class and had lunch from and with a local Palestinian family. We had maklooba, a famous dish of the region, a version of what I had the first night.
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